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Amos House (2019) Print
2019 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
Amos House, which serves unhoused and unemployed people and those living in poverty, developed a volunteer-managed garden to provide fresh ingredients for the organization's soup kitchen. Amos House installed four raised garden beds and two containers for growing herbs. The organization relied on labor from participants in its carpentry program and planted seeds donated by a local farm. Following construction of the 900-square-foot garden, Amos House recruited 20 volunteers age 50 and older to tend the garden. In the summer of 2019, the garden yielded produce valued at 6,500, which they used to prepare 15,000 meals. Residents of Amos House's shelter programs participate in gardening and harvesting, which project organizers say represented an important social activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Vernon, CT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: A vacant courtyard at the Senior Center offered little value while older adults had limited access to fresh produce and social engagement. The project transformed the space with eight raised garden beds, trellises and an accessible walkway. About 15 volunteers planned and maintain the gardens, which will supply vegetables for meals and share extras with members and local shelters. Participants expressed excitement about gardening again, anticipating healthier meals and renewed opportunities for connection and activity.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Wilmington, DE
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Gardening offers proven benefits for memory and mental health, yet many older adults struggle with mobility and strength, and residents in underserved neighborhoods lack access to fresh food. To address this, the organization purchased 105 ergonomic tools like telescopic rakes and kneeling benches, making gardening safer and more accessible. Volunteers, including 15 older adults, helped maintain community gardens and urban farms, fostering social connections and improving well-being. One volunteer said the new kneeling pads made gardening much more comfortable, enabling her to keep contributing.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Bronx, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The Morris Community Garden had suffered years of neglect, and the abandoned site was overrun with rats. To breathe new live into the space, BronxWorks restored the garden, located near a senior center and three schools. They renamed the space Bean Morris Garden to memorialize a young man from the neighborhood. To welcome people of all ages and abilities, the nonprofit added accessible seating to the space, along with raised garden beds. Since the renovation, residents of all ages have volunteered to tend to the plots. Organizers say the amenity offers an important outdoor gathering space for the community.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Providence, RI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Accessibility of amenities
Description: Community Libraries of Providence addressed a safety gap that kept some neighbors from participating in outdoor library programs. At Knight Memorial Library, the ramp and stairs leading to the lawn lacked secure handrails, making access stressful for older adults using canes, walkers or wheelchairs. The project installed new handrails along both sides of the accessible ramp and repaired the handrail on the street staircase, building on earlier accessibility improvements. A patron wrote that she had stopped attending evening Spanish classes because she was afraid of the stairs. The improvements reopened outdoor programs to neighbors with limited mobility and advanced the library's longer-term accessibility goals.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Providence, RI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Public space activation
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